Training & wellbeing 46 www.aftermarketonline.net APRIL 2026 Our people are our driving force – we must prioritise their health and wellbeing Rachel Clift, CEO at Ben, the automotive industry charity, outlines what last year’s disruption at JLR meant for the health and wellbeing of those affected, and calls for the sector as a whole to support the health and wellbeing of automotive people. There’s no doubt that last year’s cyber-attack on Jaguar Land Rover created a lot of disruption and uncertainty across the UK automotive sector. While the operational impact was widely reported, at Ben, we heard directly from people who were feeling anxious about income, job security, and what the future might hold. Unexpected external events like this tend to highlight and worsen pressures that have already been building quietly in the background. For several years, we’ve seen that stress is the number one health and wellbeing issue affecting people who work in the automotive industry. Over half of automotive workers tell us they are experiencing stress, and many say they are not getting enough time to rest and recover properly. These figures reflect an industry that has been operating at a pace for a long time. And the automotive sector is not alone. Across the UK, work-related stress, anxiety, and depression account for more than half of all work-related ill health cases, with millions of working days lost each year. Sickness absence linked to mental health is at its highest level in over a decade. These are challenges facing employers in every sector. However, the automotive industry faces a unique combination of pressures. The pace of technological change can be relentless. Electrification, automation, softwareled vehicles, and AI are reshaping roles at speed. For many people, that has meant constant upskilling and the underlying fear of becoming obsolete if they fail to keep up. Even a positive transformation can feel demanding when it’s continuous. At the same time, many businesses are managing tight margins, supply chain disruption, and rising costs. That has a knock-on effect, causing heavier workloads and longer hours for workers. In our conversations with people across the industry, from apprentices and technicians to senior leaders, concerns about work-life balance, fatigue, and financial strain are increasingly common. Financial wellbeing, in particular, is closely linked to mental health. A significant proportion of automotive workers tell us they are worried about money, and some are making difficult day-to-day choices as a result. When people are concerned about paying bills or supporting their families, it naturally affects their focus, resilience, and overall health and wellbeing. Nearly one in six automotive workers has told us that they are skipping meals due to money worries, and a majority say they are concerned about their financial situation. It was against this backdrop that the JLR disruption occurred. For some individuals and businesses, particularly
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